'Outsiders' say Texas race important to nation

Updated 9:45 pm, Sunday, July 29, 2012

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry jerked away the welcome mat for out-of-staters seeking to influence the U.S. Senate race, but as they descended on Texas anyway, they said they've got every right to support Ted Cruz over Perry's pick for the GOP nomination, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

“Every Senate race is a national race. The votes that Ted Cruz casts will have just as much effect on South Carolina as the votes I cast,” said U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who would like to add the tea party-backed Cruz to a cadre of senators trying to push the GOP agenda further right.

We wrote about it in June when Perry pointedly said it's fine for people to “come to Texas and learn how to do it right,” but warned, “don't come down here and tell us who needs to be our next United States senator, thank you very much. We'll decide that without your outside, Washington, D.C.-oriented help.”

DeMint said he and other senators aren't representing Washington interests but are driven by the grassroots. Other conservative U.S. senators here to back Cruz in Tuesday's runoff emphasized their Texas roots as they talked to reporters last week after a Dallas tea party rally.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky pointed out that he grew up on Texas, the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said he lived in Texas for two years and that his mom grew up here.

“Regardless, one has to ask the question: Why does he (Perry) care if outside interests speak in favor of Ted Cruz?” Lee said.

Perry said last week it's because he wants a senator who cares about what's best for Texas rather than Washington politics, but Lee had a different theory.

“He cares because he can see what a groundswell of support this man (Cruz) has and that there are really good reasons for that ... this man's a genius, and this man belongs in the United States Senate,” Lee said.

Despite his support for Cruz, DeMint couldn't let that one slide, deadpanning, “Wait a minute. If he's a genius, he does not belong in the United States Senate. He won't fit in at all.”

Running incognito

In the midst of his final push for votes, Dewhurst made a quick stop in Fort Worth to recognize some firefighters for their bravery. There was no campaign crowd since it wasn't a campaign event. Dewhurst wouldn't even answer political questions until he stepped around the back of the building since he didn't want to look like he was campaigning at the fire station.

So in search of a voter with an opinion, I stopped in at the nearby Mama E's Bar B Que and Home Cooking just off the highway. It made me wish candidates had more time to talk to people besides the likely supporters they identify with such precision.

Ernestine Edmond — “Mama E” herself, owner of the establishment — hadn't yet voted. She said she was still looking into the candidates' records. She cares more about a candidate's integrity and approach to the job than any particular issue.

She wants to know that when she calls an elected official's office, someone will get back to her. She wants someone who will try to keep his promises, although she said, “I know everybody can't keep every promise they make.”

Partisan affiliation doesn't matter, she said: “They're both the same to me. They're men trying to get a job done.”

Edmond would like the chance to meet with officeholders and candidates when they come through: “You sent me a flyer to tell me you are running. Why didn't you send me one saying you are going to be in my neighborhood today?”

If they did — and this isn't just about Dewhurst — maybe they'd be able to better answer this question she posed: “You say you represent Texas, but do you represent all of Texas?” Maybe meeting more people would be a start.

FreePAC, the Dallas tea party rally where Cruz and conservative U.S. senators spoke last week, was organized by the limited-government group FreedomWorks. Like similar national groups, it isn't just looking to elect Republicans but to elect the ones who will support its views. That attitude was exemplified by T-shirts that some wore with a quote from the group's president, Matt Kibbe: “Sometimes you have to beat the Republicans before you beat the Democrats.”